Archive for the 'Dion Bailey' Tag Under 'USC' Category

A record total of 98 juniors and sophomores have declared early for the NFL draft and, as expected, that list includes five USC players.

As they previously announced they would, receiver Marqise Lee, safety Dion Bailey, defensive lineman George Uko, center Marcus Martin and tight end Xavier Grimble (all juniors) have made themselves eligible for the draft.

LSU, with seven, lost the most underclassmen to the draft. Cal lost six, but that includes a player (defensive end Chris McCain) who was kicked off the team in September.

Last year, 73 underclassmen declared for the draft, compared to 65 in 2012 and 56 in 2011.

Marqise Lee announced that he intends to skip his senior season at USC and declare for the NFL draft.

Lee, one of the most accomplished receivers in USC history, had been considered a longshot to return and is a probable first-round draft pick. He made his announcement Friday night on his official Twitter account.

As part of his post, Lee wrote, "I want to thank my coaches, teammates, staff and the entire Trojan Family for all the support over the last three seasons. I am a proud Trojan and will remain a Trojan for life!"

Lee leaves as USC’s all-time leader with 3,655 receiving yards in only three seasons. His 248 catches rank second behind former teammate Robert Woods (252) and his 29 receiving touchdowns rank fourth.

After a 2012 sophomore season in which Lee won the Biletnikoff Award as college football’s top receiver - the only USC player ever to do so - Lee endured a difficult, injury-interrupted 2013 season. He led the Trojans with 57 catches but had only 791 yards and four touchdowns.

USC junior safety Dion Bailey is set to announce Monday whether he will declare for the NFL Draft or return for his senior season. It has been widely expected, for weeks, that Bailey will leave USC early.

USC has set up ``media availability’’ time for Bailey, and not a press conference with any coaches. Bailey is not waiting to receive his draft evaluation, as many other USC juniors said they are doing.

Bailey moved from linebacker to safety this season and was named to the Pac-12 Conference second team. Bailey led USC with five interceptions and was fourth on the team with 62 total tackles.

USC is expected to return Su’a Cravens and Leon McQuay as its top contributors at safety in 2014. Bailey primarily played a nickel back role, and often lined up close to the line of scrimmage.

Draft-eligible juniors such as Marqise Lee, Josh Shaw, George Uko and Hayes Pullard have yet to announce a firm timetable for their decision, which must be reached by mid-January.

Here's what Cody Kessler, Hayes Pullard, Andre Heidari and Dion Bailey had to say after USC's victory over Stanford...

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CODY KESSLER

(on going for it on fourth down on the last drive...) ''Coach O, it's his call and he could tell in our eyes that we wanted to do this. We were giving him that look and he could tell our offense didn't want to come off. Coach Helton called it and adjusted to what they were doing.''

(on the strength of Stanford's defense...) ''It's tough to say. A lot of defenses bring different stuff. It's the best running defense we've faced all years. Guys were doing their assignment and making blocks but seemed like those guys didn't want to be moved. They were so big it was hard to get them off their blocks. For me, I just wanted to just take care of the ball, that's my main thing. Don't turn it over. Be smart and don't make mistakes.''

As it turns out, what seemed like bravado from USC safety Dion Bailey might have been wisdom.

Leading up to the Oregon State game, Bailey dismissed Sean Mannion as an ``OK’’ quarterback and claimed not to know the surname of the fellow who led college football in passing yards.

Bailey seemed to be setting himself up for a heaping serving of word-eating, but ``OK’’ might have been a kind evaluation of Mannion on Friday night. Then again, maybe USC’s defense deserves the credit.

Mannion completed 26 of 45 attempts for 277 yards and one touchdown, but he also threw three interceptions. Mannion entered the game with a total of three interceptions in 391 pass attempts.

It seemed fitting that one of those three interceptions went to Bailey, who picked off Mannion at the USC 3 with the Trojans leading 31-14 in the fourth quarter. Josh Shaw had a second-quarter interception in the endzone and Kevon Seymour had a fourth-quarter interception.

There was plenty of Florida sunshine in the Coliseum on Saturday. The game was a part of USC’s ``Trojan Family Week,’’ in which parents visit campus, and freshman safety Leon McQuay III had a lot of company.

McQuay, a Tampa-area native, said he had nine relatives at the game, including both parents. They saw him make his first college start, as USC’s nickel back, and record his first interception. Late in the second quarter, McQuay made a nice read and intercepted Utah’s Travis Wilson along the sideline.

``I was able to roam,’’ McQuay said, referring to his nickel-coverage role. ``I just followed (the receiver) out and I sat under the route. The quarterback forced it, and I was there.’’

McQuay joined the defensive rotation because one safety, Josh Shaw, was moved to cornerback and another, Dion Bailey, was unavailable in the first half due to injury.

It’s been a slow roll-out for McQuay, who was considered one of the top safety recruits in the country when he signed with USC in February. Before Saturday, McQuay had appeared in all seven games but totaled only two tackles. He had three tackles against Utah, and one pass breakup.

USC faces a short week of preparation before Friday’s game at Oregon State. Among those injured against Utah, offensive tackle Kevin Graf (ankle) is questionable, safety Su’a Cravens (groin) is probable and walk-on tight end Shane Sullivan is out for the year with a torn ACL, interim coach Ed Orgeron said Sunday.

Orgeron said he didn’t yet know the status of receiver Marqise Lee (sprained knee), and said it was possible that tight ends Xavier Grimble and Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick could return this week. Orgeron said Lee would be examined by a doctor this week.

Here’s what several USC players had to say after their victory over Utah…

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CODY KESSLER

(on the game…) KESSLER: ``I'm so proud of our guys. They played awesome. I think this quote on the wall, the quote we put up, it just says it all. Like Coach O said, it is what it is and we're going to put 11 on the field and fight, no matter who it is. Chris Willson came in and played amazing. Shane Sullivan came in and unfortunately he went down with an injury, but he was playing great. Chris had a catch and he played well. Nate (Guertler) had to go to the tight end position, which he jas never done before. I'm just so proud of these guys. They worked so hard and bought into the system. Obviously we didn’t put up all the points we wanted to put up, and capitalize, but under the circumstances that we had, for us to pull out a win and keep working, it’s awesome.’’

(on being a leader on this team now…) KESSLER: ``I was forced into that leadership position and to take control. I wouldn’t have it any other way. It's been awesome. I have a great supporting cast. Everyone is buying in. I feel like they really do follow me when I lead. There are other guys on offense that are leaders and I’d follow them anywhere also. So it's awesome to have that camaraderie. Same thing with the defense. I can feel the energy with the defense supporting me, coming off the field and telling me, `Let’s go, let’s get a touchdown.’ That’s awesome. That just instills that confidence that you need to be a full-time leader on this team.’’